I have had a lot of great questions and comments about dog seat belts this week, so let’s jump right in with the recap.

LAST WEEK’S FOLLOW UP

Jodi with Heart Like a Dog asked how to determine the correct size of pet car harness to get. Each brand has a different method, which can make things kind of confusing. So the first thing to do is determine which brand to get.

The Bergan makes it easy to determine what size is needed. All you need to know is the weight of your dog. Kurgo, too, can go by weight, but knowing your dog’s chest measurement also helps. The Ruff Rider Roadie also needs the chest measurement.

Measure your dog’s chest by wrapping a tape measure around the biggest part of his chest. Use the two-finger rule, which means put two fingers under the measure when you do this. The measurement is also called the girth. Maya’s girth is 31 inches. According to Kurgo’s measurement guidelines, Maya would need a large which fits dogs with a girth between 24 and 34 inches. According to the Ruff Rider Roadie, she’d need a medium 2.

Maya gets her girth measured to see what size of dog seat belt is right for her.

The ClickIt Utility pet car harness requires a different measurement. You have to measure both your dog’s neck and chest in a figure 8. Here’s a video with detailed instructions – Sizing for ClickIt Utility dog seat belts.

Measuring for the ClickIt Utility pet car harness: Starting at the top, wrap the tape measure around your dog’s chest, then neck, in a figure-8.

Flea with Dog Treat Web for Jones Natural Chews compared the use of a pet car harness to when seat belt laws for people first became mandatory. It took a lot of persuasion (and threats of getting a ticket) to convince people to wear them. Today, it still takes some convincing. Perhaps someday, we will all see the benefits for ourselves and our family, including our pets.

Hawk with Brown Dog CBR said, “I need a longer tether for my harness. I prefer my crate, but my size or rather the crate’s size prevents it fitting into the car. I HATE the harness and seat belt! It always get all twisted whenever I need to lay down. The harness fits perfectly, but the tether is WAY too short to allow any movement.” With the recent research that determined all dog seat belts may not be as safe as we like, a lot of people are considering pet travel crates. But you’re right, Hawk. This is not easy to do for big dogs. There is no way Maya and Pierson’s dog crate will fit in my car. Speaking of tangling in the tethers, the brand I’ve found the best is the Bergan tether. It is sold separately so that you don’t have to buy the whole harness. Kurgo also has a direct connect tether – Replacement Tethers for harnesses.

POOP PATROL

Regarding the importance of picking up your dog’s poop when traveling, Roxy with Roxy the Traveling Dog says, “Very true, because we are always traveling, I have bags in the truck, in my purse, sometimes in my pocket. I always pick up the poop.” Me too! I have poop bags in the car and in all my coat pockets. I don’t carry around a purse so my cell phone, driver’s license, and credit cards are always in my pants pockets, along with a few poop bags.

Sugar with Sugar the Golden Retriever noted about how some parks are beginning to restrict dogs to certain areas. This is because people aren’t picking up after their dogs. So it is very important that we show how responsible we can be when it comes to our furry best friends.

FUNNY DOGS CAR TALK ADVENTURES

The first episode of Maya and Pierson’s car travel video is finally finished! If you missed it, check it out below.

Be sure to give it a thumbs up on YouTube! Maya, Pierson, and I would love it if you’d share it too.

Snoopy with Snoopy’s Dog Blog said, “I loved the video!! It was very informative, but in a cool and fun way – great job! Looking forward to the next videos – Maybe Maya and Pierson will be getting and Oscar for their performances?”

Thanks so much, Snoopy! They might not get an Oscar, but they got a lot of treats for cooperating so well. When Maya said, “Huh?” in the video, it was because I said the word “cookie”. And Pierson really does need bribing sometimes when it comes to getting in the car.

CONTEST GIVEAWAY

I have a bunch of figurines left over from another website I used to run for animal figurines, so I thought I would give some away. Sorry I’m not giving away something as exciting as pet travel supplies this time. But I will in December, I promise! In the meantime, there is still a chance to win a cute dog figurine. If you’re not interested in one for yourself, it might make a good gift. Or if your shelter or rescue group does auctions to raise money, you can give it to them. The contest is open until the end of the month.

Well, that’s all I have for this week. Thanks for stopping by! And thank you to Jodi and Donna for hosting the Follow Up Friday blog hop!

Sunday, October 6th was the Dogtoberfest event held at South Park in Lawrence, Kansas. I was there as a vendor with a couple of tables of our pet travel supplies. Maya was there as well. Her job was to look cute and to occasionaly demonstrate her new ClickIt Utility dog car harness. Here is a photo I took of Maya and several other photos of the event:

These balloon sculptures are awesome! Dogtoberfest had a kids section for face painting, kids crafts, and other fun activities. Where are the kids? This was taken before Dogtoberfest officially started.

A close up of one of the colorful balloon sculptures.

We met this beautiful brindle Mastiff at Dogtoberfest.

I couldn’t leave my booth but luckily the disc dog event was right across from me. Look at this Border Collie go!

This Border Collie is really intent on her disc.

This dog is doing the weave trick at the disc dog event.

Also close to my booth was the Mastiff rescue. This big guy is already adopted. The Malamute is a visitor to the event.

When Maya wasn’t being a model for her dog car harness or greeting visitors at the Dogtoberfest event, she was playing with a stick she found.

Lots of people and dogs at the Dogtoberfest event. These people and vendors are to the left of my table.

More people and vendors at the Dogtoberfest event. This is from the right side of my table.

This is my friend Roxy. I haven’t seen her in such a long time and so was very happy that she came to Dogtoberfest.

On Sunday, Maya and I went to the Responsible Pet Owner’s Day event at Crystal K9 in Lawrence, Kansas. I had one table there for our pet travel supplies and Maya came with me to show off her Kurgo Go-Tech dog safety seat belt. The event was the first one ever held by Crystal K9 so it was a small event. But it was a lot of fun. There were several enjoyable activities, some of which Maya got to participate in. And there were other local pet supply vendors. Here are some photos I took of the event:

There were adoptable dogs at the event, including this sweet girl.

This is the Wynn Dixie dog breed, the Berger Picard. This adorable guy is about 5 months old. Just look at those ears!

This is the first English Setter I have ever seen in person. Isn’t he gorgeous?

I think this guy is a Havanese. Sorry, I can’t remember for certain. I met so many adorable dogs at the Responsible Pet Owner’s Day event.

I learned how to say Keeshond properly when I met this beautiful girl and her bigger fluffier brother at the Responsible Pet Owner’s Day event.

This little guy belongs to the exectutive director of the Lawrence Humane Society. He loves to stay in his purse and he was quite comfortable there too.

My Maya got in the way of a lot of photos at the Responsible Pet Owner’s Day event.

Maya loved meeting all the dogs at the Responsible Pet Owner’s Day event.

Maya won this dog dish in one of the activities at the event. The activity was a doggie version of musical chairs where the dog who took the longest to sit was out. Maya got 2nd place out of 10 dogs. I’m so proud!

A Pembroke Welsh Corgi at the Responsible Pet Owner’s Day event. He was with a Cardigan Welsh Corgi too, but I didn’t get a good photo.

Lots of people and dogs hanging out at the Responsible Pet Owner’s Day event held out in front of Crystal K9.

I think this girl’s name is Giselle. She was adopted from the Lawrence Humane Society a few months ago. Here, she bought the Kurgo Go-Tech dog safety seat belt from me at the Responsible Pet Owner’s Day event.

This cute little girl is named Mia and she was at the Responsible Pet Owner’s Day event too. Isn’t she just the cutest little thing?

For more great pet photos, check out the Wordless Wednesday blog hop below:

Sephi loves her dog seatbelt. But if you think your dog will hate a dog seatbelt, consider the various other pet travel supplies available on the market.Keep him safe by keeping him in the back seat with a pet barrier.Keep him secure in a pet travel crate strapped in with kennel restraints.Or keep him comfortable in a dog car seat.

Love your dog this Valentine’s Day and keep him safe when he travels.Spring is coming soon and he will want to go to the dog park and enjoy the sunshine again.

~

Love is playing in the park. Love is expressed in a joyous bark.
Love is taking him to the vet. Love is when he is more than just a pet.
Love is good food that puts him in a happy mood.
Love his giving him a nice warm bed even though he will shed.
Love is a nice long walk and a wagging tail.
And love his keeping him safe, whatever that might entail.

Are you traveling by car with your pet this holiday?It’s cold out there so be sure to bring winter essentials along with other everyday pet travel supplies and emergency supplies.Use our checklist to make sure you have all your winter pet travel supplies:

Pet travel in winter can be more difficult in colder weather.Road conditions can be more dangerous so it is more important than ever that your pet not be a distraction in the car.Keep your pet in a pet crate or have them wear a pet car harness.If a pet crate or pet car harness just won’t work for your pet, you can get a pet car barrier to keep them in the back seat.If you are in a car accident or get stuck in the snow, call for help and cuddle up with your pet under a blanket for warmth.If you are stuck in a high traffic area and expect help soon, keep your car on and your heater going.If you are stuck in an isolated area, run your car and heater sparingly as needed.Unless you know for sure that help is nearby, you should stay in your car.

We here at Pet Auto Safety.com don’t just sell pet auto safety supplies, we use them too.In fact, Sephi has worn a dog car seatbelt ever since she was a puppy.That was nine years ago and Pet Auto Safety.com has only been around for four years.

Sephi is the reason I started this business.Maya is the reason why I keep doing it.Without their safety harnesses, traveling with them would be a hassle and potentially dangerous for both them and me.

But I don’t just have them use a dog car seatbelt.Since starting Pet Auto Safety.com, I have found lots of great pet auto safety travel supplies.One thing which I love is the Extend-A-Seat.The Extend-A-Seat covers the floor of the car so that Sephi and Maya have more room to move around.We have gone to Texas and back a few times and having more room really makes the long trip more comfortable.I wish I could have that much extra space!

I also really like the pet window barriers.The Breeze Guard pet window barriers are great for letting in fresh air without allowing my dogs to stick their heads out the window.The Breeze Guard pet window barriers keep my dogs from being hurt by flying debris and they prevent my dogs from being able to jump out or fall out of the window.

The dog car seat cover is also a blessing.Maya loves to get wet at the dog park but the last thing I want is a wet dog getting the seats of my car soak and wet.Without the dog car seat cover, that wet dog smell would be absorbed into the seat cushions forever.The dog car seat cover also keeps mud and dog hair off my seat cushions.

Does your dog ride in the car?If so, do you have any pet travel supplies in your car?What works best for your dog when he travels in the car?

You may already be familiar with Outward Hound pet supply brands.The Outward Hound brand provides products which combine quality with affordability.Their products are well made and relatively inexpensive as compared to other brands.Outward Hound makes dog backpacks, dog toys, water bowls, dog life vests, pet strollers, and more.But did you know that they also make pet travel supplies too?

Pet Auto Safety.com provides a number of pet travel supplies with the Outward Hound brand.Both the Kyjen Pet Booster Seat and the Outward Hound Pet Booster Seat are Outward Hound brands.Both of these pet booster seat styles provide security for your dog when he travels in the car while at the same time giving him a “boost” so he can see out the window.

Other pet travel supplies from Outward Hound include the Front Seat Barrier which keeps your dog from climbing over the console to the front seat, the Window Bumper which provides padding for the dog who likes to put his head out the window, the Extend-A-Seat which covers the floor of the back seat to give your dog more room, and the Port-A-Bowl which is an easy carry food and water bowl for when you take your dog for long walks or long travel trips.

Check out these and other great pet travel supplies at Pet AutoSafety.com.Feel free to use discount code, petblogger, to get 10% off your order.

Don’t let your small dog have free reign in your car. There are lots of pet travel supplies designed to keep your small dogs comfortable and safe. Probably pet travel supplies for small dogs include a pet car seat and/or a dog safety harness. Pet car seat designs include the kind that hangs from the headrest of the car seat or the kind that sits on the seat and is strapped in with the car seat belt. To keep your small dog in the car seat, most pet car seat designs have a strap which can be attached to the dog’s harness. Other pet travel supplies for small pets include a pet crate.

It can be difficult to get a scared dog used to riding in the car. One of the best things you can do for your scared pet is to let them use their favorite blanket or bed while they are in the car. If possible, have someone sit in the back seat with the dog to provide added comfort. The perfect pet travel supplies for your scared dog includes a pet crate or dog car seat (for smaller dogs). A dog car seat can be used as a bed in the home and it generally has a safety strap which can be attached to your dog’s harness for safety. For a crate-trained dog, a pet crate is great. Just use your dog’s crate in the car. You can secure the pet crate with a bungee strap.